VK Singh replies to J&K assembly notice

A day after his reply to the Supreme Court, former army chief general (retired) VK Singh on Tuesday replied to a privilege-motion notice from the state assembly speaker.

A day after his reply to the Supreme Court, former army chief general (retired) VK Singh on Tuesday replied to a privilege-motion notice from the state assembly speaker.

Issued on October 24, the notice is in response to the privilege motion moved by ministers and legislator after the former general's interview comment to a private news channel that the army had paid money to Jammu and Kashmir politicians for many years. General Singh is reported to have replied to the speaker that he had never stated that the army had paid money to the Jammu and Kashmir politicians.

The reply was submitted along which a compact disc (CD) containing the interview that speaker Mubarak Gul would examine for taking further action, a government spokesman has said here on Tuesday. A leaked report of the army's internal inquiry had claimed that in 2010, Technical Services Division, an intelligence unit of the army formed when the general was in command of the force, had paid Rs 1.19 crore to state minister Ghulam Hassan Mir allegedly to destabilise the Omar Abdullah government.

The report created a political storm in the state, and chief minister Omar Abdullah stated that now mainstream politicians would be suspected even more. He also wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking an investigation. In the wake of the privilege motion, the legislators of the ruling National Conference had also demanded in-person appearance of the former general in the assembly.